Only A Memory Away
by Maxi-Luca
Summary: Ficlet... What Willow saw while consumed by light in "Chosen"... Please R&R!


Disclaimer: I don't own Willow, Tara, Kennedy, Buffy or anything special. You want to sue? Go ahead, I don't have anything worth of value.

Author's Note: Having writer's block for "Chapters" and had this thought in my head since the BtVS finale so I thought I'd do this ficlet. Enjoy!

**Only a Memory Away**

The time was coming. Willow was calling on all the powers of light and letting it use her body as a channel to make all the girls in the world who have the potential to be slayers, actually be slayers. To fight evil, to be stronger than before, to have the will for good. Kennedy, who sat in front of Willow, felt this power also. She was becoming a slayer.

Soon, Willow was consumed by all the light. All she saw was brightness and felt nothing but the power of good.

Then all was still. She was standing in what appeared to be a white room with no walls, just whiteness. It was an endless room. 'Hold on!' her mind screamed, 'I was at the school... Where the heck am I? Where's Kennedy?' She turned around in circles but saw the same thing; endless amounts of white nothing.

"Willow." a voice said. 

She turned in the direction of the voice, but saw nothing. It was familier, calming, and peaceful. "Wh-who's there?" she called out.

A hand placed itself on Willow's shoulder very gently. Willow, nonetheless, spun around, ready for anything, though in retrospect, Willow knew she wasn't much of a fighter.

Willow froze at who she saw, at who the hand and the voice belonged to. She stared in amazement and awe. Her eyes were wide and her mouth had hung opened... 'Impossible...' her mind said, "It can't be," she whispered out loud, "Tara?"

Indeed it was Tara, from her honey blonde hair to her ice blue eyes and all the was to her feet. She stood there wearing black slacks and a black turtle neck, sleeves rolled up to her elbows, but she was bare foot and her hair was down. She looked at Willow with a proud smile, "You found it. The power of light."

"You-God, am I dreaming?" Willow asked, nearing the point of emotional breakdown. Memories of Tara's death were flooding Willow's head. From the smile she had right before the first shot to the look of confusion when she asked "Your shirt?" It was all going through Willow's head in multiple flashes.

A small laugh escaped from Tara's mouth and she shook her head slightly, "It's kind of hard to explain what's happening right now. It's sort of like... A limbo?" Tara began to walk around, arms up, looking up, everything the same endless whiteness, "This is the place where people get stuck in limbo," she put her arms down to her side, "When someone doesn't know where to go, they go to a place like this."

It was a bit confusing, but then Willow had a realization, "Am I... Am I dead?"

"No." Tara said, with sincerity in her voice, "I brought you here because," she sighed, "Because I wanted to say goodbye."

Willow jumped inside herself, "What? But you're already... I don't understand." She was beginning to panic.

All that came from Tara was a small laugh of amusement at Willow's panic, lord how she loved Willow's panic attacks. Then she walked right up to Willow and looked into her eyes, to her hair, to her lips, all over her face, "When a witch dies, if she or he had enough power in her or himself, and all the gods and goddesses feel as if she or he is the right one, then the witch becomes a Goddess or God, replacing another, who sort of, retires. Guess I had more power than I thought, huh?" she smiled.

'So that explains why The First never took Tara's form.' Willow realized. Her mouth was closed and she formed a smile, "I always told you you had it in you." she said proudly.

As they locked eyes, Willow's hand slowly began to rise up to Tara's face. Tara didn't move, keeping her head tilted down slightly and kept her eyes on Willow. Her hand reached up to Tara's face and froze. All Willow wanted was to touch that face, feel that skin, know that it was real. It was something she longed for. It was hurting her inside and eating at her, but she was afraid that if she let her hand go any further, it would go through, proving that this wasn't real.

Then Tara's own hand rose slowly towards Willow's. She gently placed her hand on the back of Willow's and brought it to her cheek. She was solid.

Upon feeling her skin, tears fell from Willow's eyes, "Oh God, Tara!" she exclaimed before throwing herself into Tara's arms, "I've missed you so much. The pain wouldn't go away. It never went away. I'm so small without you." she cried onto Tara's shoulder.

"Sshh." Tara gently embraced Willow, running her hands slowly around her back in a comforting rythm, "I've always been with you. And I always will, in memory now."

Willow brought her head back and looked at Tara, "Why didn't you ever come see me like this?" not removing herself from Tara's hold.

"Because, this limbo is only used for crossings. The only place I'd be solid. If I came to you, I wouldn't be solid. You guys would think I was The First." Tara said as gently as she could. "When people die, it takes time to learn how to 'haunt'. By the time I learned how to appear, The First was messing with you guys." then she leaned a little closer, "But all those dreams you had... That was me." she smiled.

The girls stood there holding each other, for what seemed like endless hours, but time had no meaning where they were. They could stay there forever and time on Earth would still not have moved. To someone, seeing them standing and holding each other would've looked odd, but to them, it was their last moment of being together.

"I don't want to leave. I don't want you to leave." Willow said, her head still on Tara's shoulder.

"We both have to. You need to continue fighting the good fight. I need to take the place of Thespia. She's the one 'retiring'." she smiled.

"Tara?"

"Hmm?"

"What's my destiny?"

Tara leaned back to look at Willow, "I don't know. But what I do know is... You'll be great. Anything and everything you do, you'll do to your fullest."

"I love you." tears began to flow down Willow's cheeks again.

"I love you too." Tara replied. Her face became saddened, "It's time."

"What?" at first Willow was confused, then she realized what Tara was saying, "No. No we just got here!" she protested.

"I'm sorry. You need to finish the spell and I'm suppose to help you. It's my test, as well as your own." she paused. She looked deep into Willow's eyes, "I never left you, I will always be in here," she pointed to Willow's heart, "And here," she pointed to the side of Willow's head, then smiled. She continued, "If you ever want me, I'm only a memory away." she smiled and leaned in slowly and gently placed a small, but loving kiss on Willow's lips.

Then they disappeared from each other.

Willow was back at the school and she finished the spell, with the help of Tara. Kennedy was now a slayer, all the potentials were now slayers. Willow was in a daze and overwhelmed and somewhat recharged.

Tara was in a temple in a forest, many other Gods and Goddesses greeted her. Thespia came down and embraced Tara, passing to her the responsibilities. It was time for Thespia to become human again, to be reincarnated. Tara would be a goddess until her time to be human again would call.

For now, until they meet again, both Willow and Tara had each other in their hearts and in their memories.

END SCENE

Author's Note: Well there it is. I always thought Tara was more powerful than they made her appear. I love Tara!!! Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about "Chapters"... But I do want to make a fanfic challenge for a Tara/Oz... More details to come later. Check my profile for updates! 


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